Exxon hit with lawsuit over Arkansas spill

Two Mayflower residents claim permanent hit to property values

Spilled crude oil is seen in a drainage ditch near Starlite Road in Mayflower, Ark. An Exxon Mobil pipeline carrying Canadian crude oil was shut off after a rupture caused an evacuation of 22 homes.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Two residents of Mayflower, Ark., have filed a federal lawsuit against Exxon Mobil Corp. in connection with the pipeline rupture and oil spill in their town.

Kimla Greene and Kathryn Jane Chunn filed the suit a week after the spill, triggered by a rupture in Exxon’s Pegasus pipeline. Cleanup crews are still working to mop oil off the streets of Mayflower, 25 miles northwest of Little Rock.

The women are seeking compensation for a permanent decline in property values, according to media reports. The lawsuit is seeking more than $5 million in damages for the property owners affected.

The pipeline, which carried crude oil from Illinois to the Gulf of Mexico area, has been shut down. Residents of the 22 homes affected were still out of their houses.

Exxon
XOM, -4.58%
crews are cleaning up the crude by pressure washing and absorbent pads, and by removing contaminated soil and vegetation, the company said late Friday on an update about the operations.

“Most of the impacted soil has been removed from the yards of the six homes impacted by the spill,” Exxon said.

There’s been no impact on drinking water supply, and the company has submitted a plan to dig and remove the affected portion of the pipeline to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Exxon added.

In earlier reports, Exxon said “a few thousand” barrels were observed in the area, and it proceeded with the response from a 10,000-barrel spill to ensure “adequate resources are in place.”

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